'Big Meech,' Black Mafia Family co-founder, released from jail ...

article

FILE-A prisoner's hands are seen inside a jail cell. (Photo by Giles Clarke/Getty Images)

The Brief

• • Demetrius "Big Meech" Flenory, the co-founder of the Black Mafia Family, has been released from jail and is slated to finish his sentence at a halfway house.
  • Flenory was arrested in 2005 and later sentenced to 30 years in prison after he was convicted on charges related to drug trafficking and money laundering.
  • He is expected to be released on Jan. 27, 2026, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

Demetrius "Big Meech" Flenory, the infamous co-founder of the Black Mafia Family crime enterprise, has been released from jail and will finish his sentence at a halfway house, TMZ reported Wednesday. 

The Federal Bureau of Prisons tells the entertainment media outlet that Flenory was transferred Tuesday from FCI Coleman Low in Wildwood to community confinement overseen by the Bureau of Prisons Miami Residential Reentry Management Office. 

Flenory was arrested in 2005, and in 2008 he was sentenced to 30 years in prison after being convicted on charges related to drug trafficking and money laundering. In 2024, a judge shortened his sentence by almost three years.

According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons website, Flenory is expected to be released on Jan. 27, 2026.

Who was the Black Mafia Family?

The BMF was founded in 1985 in Detroit and was led by brothers Demetrius and Terry Flenory. The crime syndicate was a drug-trafficking and money-laundering operation.

Newsweek reported that BMF had over 500 members nationwide and made more than $270 million between 1989 and 2005. 

In 2000, the Flenory brothers built a cocaine distribution network through their Los Angeles–based drug sources and their connections to Mexican drug cartels. 

According to Newsweek, Demetrius also launched BMF Entertainment, a hip-hop music business that served as a front for the brothers' money laundering and other sources of income.

But in October 2005, the Drug Enforcement Agency conducted a drug raid, arresting 30 members of the BMF. During the raid, $2 million in cash and assets, including weapons and cocaine were seized. That same year, the Flenory brothers were indicted on multiple charges. 

Citing court documents, Newsweek reported that the brothers pleaded guilty in 2007 to operating a continuing criminal enterprise "involving the large-scale distribution of cocaine" in the U.S. from 1990 to 2005. 

Demetrius and Terry were sentenced to 30 years in prison for being leaders of the BMF criminal enterprise.

The Source

• Information for this story was provided by TMZ and the Federal Bureau of Prisons website.  TMZ received comments from the Federal Bureau of Prisons regarding his transfer to a halfway house where he is scheduled to finish his sentence. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.